


The Best Thing I've Ever Seen

by waltzlikecarmilla



Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, Pokemon AU, Pokemon Crossover, Pokemon Journey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-15 03:11:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13604325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waltzlikecarmilla/pseuds/waltzlikecarmilla
Summary: It was easy to forget that the six trainers were on the run from their parents, because adventuring together was so much fun.Sure, Karolina knew that sometimes money was short, and that Alex or Nico losing a battle or Karolina losing a contest meant they might be short on ample food for a few days. But watching the five of her friends enjoying each other's company and raising Pokémon together was all she had ever wanted!A Marvel Runaways Pokemon AU





	1. Reliving the Past

**Author's Note:**

> Hello hello!
> 
> Yes, this is only one chapter so far. I didn't want to limit myself by writing the story in chronological order, from the time they were getting their first Pokemon to the time they battle Team Pride. That would take a long time, and honestly be very limiting. 
> 
> So, I leave the adventures to you and my own brain!
> 
> I'm going to write about whatever Pokemon World shenanigans they get up too, and in turn, if you have something related to this that you would like to see, let me know and I can add a chapter one it!
> 
> This is literally for fun, and I couldn't resist creating the Runaways with a team of Eevee's. I just couldn't okay? 
> 
> Enjoy!

It was easy to forget that the six trainers were on the run from their parents, because adventuring together was so much fun.

Sure, Karolina knew that sometimes money was short, and that Alex or Nico losing a battle or Karolina losing a contest meant they might be short on ample food for a few days. But watching the five of her friends enjoying each other's company and raising Pokémon together was all she had ever wanted!

Once in a while, they even got to thwart their parents plans. Team Pride was always on the move, and always looking for some way to take the Pokemon world all for themselves. It was horrible, and it didn't make it any easier for Karolina and her friends. Nobody else knew after all, that the leaders behind the Teams horrible crimes were their own parents.

Alex's parents ran the actual business side of Team Pride, while Nico and Chase's parents worked on the production of pokeball's, pokedex's, and technology, Gert and Molly's parents were always creating the next best potion, and Karolina's parents… well her mother had been hunting legendary Pokemon since before she was born. She could only imagine what horrors awaited the world with all of these Region Superpowers working together. She didn't even want to think about it.

Karolina gripped the loops in her belt, where all her Pokemon were safely tucked away, and closed her eyes as she remembered the night everything went to shit.

_She was frantically running around her room, throwing whatever she could in her backpack. She didn't know how much she would be able to carry, so she just brought the basics, some cash, her toothbrush and other personal items, a change of clothes. She wrapped the belt she had been given for her tenth birthday around her waist, one she had never worn for longer than twenty minutes. Girls like her, girls from Brentwood, didn't go on Pokemon journeys. It was unheard of._

_She clipped it on quickly, reaching over to grab her only Pokeball. She snapped it on her belt and grabbed her last important item, her Pokedex, a bright vibrant yellow. She had to hurry, leave and join the others now before they came home. She froze as the door downstairs opened, and a very stern woman's voice yelling her name and charging up the stairs. Panicking, she opened her window and grabbed her backpack, sparing one last look at her childhood bedroom before leaping, and landing on her feet on the soft grass below. Without wasting another second, she fled, running through the trees to meet the only other people she could trust._

"Karolina?"

She snapped out of her trance, glancing around wildly. It was Chase, looking at her with concern.

"Are you alright? Gert made dinner, although just between us," his voice dropped to a whisper, "I don't know if it's safe to eat."

Karolina forced out a little laugh, not wanting him to be worried about her. The shock that came with discovering their parents' true identities left an imprint on all of the trainers hearts, even though it had been three months since they had run away. Karolina still couldn't shake the fear and despair she felt.

"Alright, I'm sure the Pokemon are hungry." She said, giving Chase a smile. The boy had clearly been training, probably battling with Alex or forcing his Pokemon to run with him. His hair was windswept, his face red, and he looked out of breath. Instead of his jeans and boots, he was wearing a muscle shirt and shorts with his sneakers. For someone so fit, it must have been quite the workout.

Karolina left the little cliff side she had been meditating on, joining the others at their temporary campsite instead. A small clearing on the outer edge of the forest they were passing through. There was a campfire roaring, and around it she could see Alex and Nico setting up a large tarp to sleep under. Karolina looked at the sky, though the sun was setting, she could see a series of clouds blowing through. There was a chance it could rain. She seriously hoped it wouldn't, it always left the people sleeping on the outside of the tarp area slightly damp when morning came.

As she and Chase got closer, she could hear Alex and Nico bickering while Molly and Gert were prepping the food onto plates they had snagged from a restaurant they visited a few towns back.

"I told you, we should have kept walking and found a cave or some other kind of cover. Nobody likes getting rained on!" Alex complained.

"And I told you, look around! Everyone's tired, we've been walking for two days now. The next town is still a few days journey and we need to rest." Nico hissed back.

Karolina resisted the urge to roll her eyes, the two were rivals after all, they couldn't help but getting in each other's faces. Instead of just watching however, she joined in on the debate.

"Guys, enough. Look, Alex you have a point, I definitely don't want to be rained on. But Nico isn't wrong. We've somehow managed to run into three different Team Pride goons in 24 hours, and we need to stay off the path and keep quiet. Besides, we have a river, which means we can clean up, and not to mention a good clearing up the hill to train."

Nico held out her hands smugly. "There! See Alex, this is the smarter move!"

Alex looked disgruntled but nodded nonetheless. "Fine. You're right, I don't want to go looking for trouble with Team Pride, but do you always have to side with Nico? It's getting old."

Karolina felt her face heat up, and she had a sneaking suspicion Nico's did too. She covered it up by looking away quickly.

"Ok, now that that's over with…" Gert said, clearly tired of the two bickering, "I have actual food ready! Soup, Salad, and noodles!"

Everybody sat down around the fire, Karolina taking a hesitant seat next to Nico, whose face was still cooling down from the teasing. Gert passed around bowls and everybody started to eat.

Karolina's mood quickly skyrocketed, it looked like Gert and Molly actually came through. Good food was hard to come by, especially things they couldn't make out of a box. Salad was impressive.

As if reading Karolina's mind, Gert bumped Molly's shoulder with pride. "Molly and Eevee were a real help! She picked all the veggies today."

There was a murmur of appreciation, and Molly flushed. "Thanks. Considering I'm 'too young' to battle like the rest of you, I might as well do something useful."

"That's because you are too young Molly." Gert sighed.

"I'm fifteen! Plenty of people are battling at my age."

"You need more training Molly." Chase said diplomatically. "You're coming a long way though! You really had Flareon and I going for a bit!"

Molly pricked up a little at the praise. "Well, if I can beat you does that mean I can enter a gym battle?"

Gert quickly shut down the conversation. "Maybe. Now let's talk about anything else."

"I spotted a strange looking Pokemon today." Karolina piped up. She was tingling with excitement, when she had seen it she wanted to go after it, but it was across the river and she knew running off would only cause panic with the others. "I don't know what it was, my Pokedex wouldn't reach that far. But it was very graceful, perfect for my contests."

"We sure are getting a lot of new Pokemon recently." Alex added, looking pleased. "The more Pokemon we train, the stronger we'll be."

Nico nodded. "Hate to say it but Alex is right, if you want Karolina, we can go look for it tomorrow."

"Yeah, for all we know there could be other interesting Pokemon we haven't seen." Chase encouraged. "Maybe we'll all catch something new!"

Gert suddenly jumped, as though electrocuted. "Shit! We forgot to give the Pokemon food!"

Everybody else looked guilty. They got so wrapped up in the conversation they realized Gert was right. Mumbling apologies to their belts, everyone reached over to their pokeball's and released their teams.

The first to appear were Alex's Luxio and Combee, Chase's Machop, Gert's Ponyta and Tyrunt, (who they had all been affectionately calling Old Lace since she grew a strange love of shoelaces) Molly's Budew, Nico's Houndour and Nuzleaf, and Karolina's Rockruff and Mareep. Once appearing the Pokemon looked at the food happily, and began to take some and converse amongst themselves.

The last Pokemon to appear were the groups starters, appearing in the order they always did. Alex's Vaporeon appeared looking regal, as though judging Chase's Flareon and Gert's Jolteon for appearing with energy and excitement. Molly's Eevee appeared with cute, blinking eyes, and finally came Karolina's Espeon and Nico's Umbreon, both standing close to one another.

A permanent reminder of their parents, who gave them all the best gifts any child could ask for. They had come back from a Team Pride meeting, (at the time, the six had assumed it was a charity event) with six pokeball's, one meant for each of them. The only rule they had been given was they could not open them before picking one.

_"But how are we supposed to know if they're any good without looking first?" fifteen-year-old Chase asked, and his father gave him a withering look._

_"Chase, as I've said before, Pokemon are not valued by if they are 'good' or not."_

_He visibly shrunk back, which went unnoticed by all the parents. Nico's mother Tina took the silence as a chance to continue._

_"You probably noticed that most kids your age have Pokemon already. We wanted you six to know the value of Pokemon, and how essential they are to us. So, until today we made you wait."_

_Dale nodded, looking excited for the six of them. "But now you can have one! Trust your instincts, and choose wisely, they will be your friend for life!"_

_Leslie and Katherine on the other hand, looked a little uncertain._

_"But there will be no journeying! You have responsibilities outside the Pokemon world." Leslie said._

_"And absolutely no battling! It's not a competition to get strong!" Katherine added._

_The six young teenagers eagerly reached for a Pokeball of their own, gripping one tightly. Karolina grabbed the one that seemed to draw her in, a calmer energy to match her excited one. When each teen had one, the parents took a few steps back._

_"Now meet your Pokemon!" Geoffrey said with a smile, and the teens all pressed the button on their ball, and were met with six identical Eevee's._

_"Evee?" They all cried, before glancing at their new trained with confusion and apprehension._

_The stunned silence on all six kids was broken by the squeal Molly let out._

_"They're so cute!"_

_As the others slowly approached their new Pokemon, Karolina gasped in awe as her own nuzzled her hand, looking completely at ease._

_"But, they're all the same!" Alex said in confusion._

_"Yeah!" Nico agreed, holding her very quiet Eevee to her chest. "I thought we had to trust our gut!"_

_Robert chuckled with amusement, and each parents face seemed to resemble the same look, even Victor._

_"Well that's just it sweetheart! That's what the lesson was!"_

_"What, that every Pokemon is actually the same?" Gert questioned, and he shook his head._

_"No no no, the lesson is…" He gestured to the Eevee's with pleasure on his face. "That you had to trust your gut and pick the Pokemon that spoke to you, because every Pokemon is different on the inside!"_

Karolina remembered that day like it was yesterday. It had been three long years ago, and so much had happened since then. Alex, Chase, and Gert had evolved their Eevee's accidently at the Pride gala last year, when they had accidentally knocked down a table of stones. They laugh about it now, saying that everything happened for the best.

Karolina and Nico's Eevee's were the next to evolve. They had been battling secretly late at night and had totally lost track of time. As the sun was rising, the rays touched Karolina's Eevee, and the darkness remained on Nico's, and the two had evolved together. The others joked that Espeon and Umbreon were in love with each other, which made both Karolina and Nico blush. Karolina didn't know why the thought made her go red, because it was most certainly true. When released, the two were inseparable.

Molly's Eevee had yet to evolve. Molly didn't seem to mind though, when the conversation was brought up she would always affectionately pat her head and tell the others that she would evolve when she was ready. Karolina thought that was incredibly cute, despite Molly just calling it decency.

Molly's Eevee immediately leapt onto her lap and began eating food Molly would hold out for her. Jolteon, Flareon, and Vaporeon bounced up to join the other Pokemon, but Espeon and Umbreon just wedged their way between Karolina and Nico and laid down, tails intertwining.

Nico hummed, stroking Umbreon's head. "Not hungry?"

In response, the sleek black Pokemon just chirped lazily and rested his head on his paws. Espeon cooed as well and did the same, leaning back appreciatively into Karolina's hand as she ran it up and down her purple body.

After dinner, everybody helped wash up. By the time they were done, the sun was beginning to set, and Karolina was ready to finish up the day with another quick rehearsal.

"Hey guys, can you watch my appeal and give me some tips?" Karolina asked, and the others nodded.

"Sure! You appeal's are so good!" Molly encouraged.

Karolina looked over at her Espeon, who was blinking at Karolina. She chuckled and waved her over. "Come on Espeon, one more run with Mareep and Rockruff and then you can sleep."

Espeon chirped in understanding, and slowly detached herself from Umbreon. When Mareep and Rockruff realized what was happening, they headed over too.

The five others sat down a good distance away, giving Karolina space to practise.

"Ok, so this is part of the new versions of appeals. Triple appeals are difficult, so we have to really practise to get it right." Karolina said, her nervousness shining through.

The others whooped and gave Karolina encouraging smiles.

"You got this Karolina!" Gert cheered, and Tyrunt roared in approval.

"Knock em dead!" Chase agreed, his Flareon bouncing in excitement.

Her Pokemon were straightening in excitement, but Karolina was still feeling a little nervous. She looked up and met Nico's gaze, and the black-haired girl shot her an encouraging smile.

"I've seen you do it before," she said, "you can do it now."

That was all Karolina needed. With a deep breath she nodded and began her appeal.

"Ok, Mareep use Electroball, and Espeon use Psybeam!"

The two Pokemon shot out the attacks as called, but instead used their energy to curve the attacks into one another. Mareep's Electroball was sustained in midair as Psybeam curved around it, holding the giant yellow electric ball up with a purple, yellow, and blue wavelike force.

"Rockruff, use Stealth Rock!"

Rockruff grunted and slammed his paw into the ground, causing shards of rock to fly into the air, circling around the Psybeam, and when Espeon dropped the attack, the Stealth Rock seemed to hold the electric ball right into the air.

"That's incredible Karolina!" Alex gasped. "How did you managed to figure out that Stealth Rock changes the gravitational pull inside the-"

"Shut up with your nerd talk Alex!" Molly groaned, "let her work!"

Karolina let out a little giggle at her friends faces, they all did seem very impressed.

"Mareep, confuse ray! Rockruff, attract!"

A purple ghostly orb shot out from Mareep, sailing around the golden ball of energy. Rockruff sent out little red hearts that soared around in the opposite direction, but the second they entered the Stealth Rock zone, they changed into a marvelous black colour.

"I know what she's doing!" Chase exclaimed, "she's mimicking space, and the Electroball is a planet!"

"Did you just get that now, Protein Powder?" Gert snapped.

"Guys! Shut up!" Nico growled.

Karolina was barely listening. Now was the moment that always went wrong. She had to focus and time it just right.

"Espeon, Future Sight!"

Espeon's eyes glimmered for a single moment, before it went quiet. Karolina hesitated for a moment, before nodding.

"Ok, use Swift!"

Espeon flicked its tail quickly, and a glimmer of stars sailed once around the Electroball before vanishing.

"Wow! Shooting stars!" Molly gasped.

Karolina nodded one last time.

"Rockruff! Rock Tomb!"

Slamming his paw down again, the ground lifted around the floating Electroball, and a pillar shot from the middle of it. For a brief moment, the Electroball flickered, and Karolina panicked.

"Now!"

As if someone heard her cry for help, a cloud appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and a thunderbolt fell from the sky, cracking into the Electroball causing it to explode. For a brief moment, Karolina had to squint as the light blinded her, before there was complete peace, and all that was left of the electric ball was sparkles that rained in every colour down from the sky.

Karolina let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, and her friends all cheered.

"That was incredible Karolina!" Alex and Gert cried at the same time.

"That was SO COOL!" Molly yelled, and Chase didn't say anything, he just sat there stunned.

Karolina laughed and was encircled by her Pokemon, chirping excitedly.

"You did awesome guys! That was our best run yet!" She exclaimed proudly, giving them all a hug.

She did notice however, that one person hadn't spoken. She turned to look at Nico, giving her a searching look.

Nico's face was hard to read. It was swimming with pride, which helped calm her nerves right away. There was also wonder, and amazement, but there was also something else there too. Something she couldn't quite reach.

Nico had gotten up and walked over. Karolina froze as she lifted up her hand, and gently flicked a sparkle off of Karolina's shoulder.

"You know, I think that was the best thing I've ever seen. Ever." She said.

And meeting Nico's eyes, and seeing that strange glimmering look up close, Karolina knew she was telling nothing but the truth.


	2. Eiffel Tower's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just a note in this chapter, I use the word "slut" a few times. 
> 
> Eiffel's really not that nice, and Gert is not having it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm back with another instalment of this little one-shot series all in the same kind of universe. If you have any requests for things you would like to see, please let me know in the comments below! If that's not really your thing, you can always send me an ask on Tumblr. My username is thegoodgayshit 
> 
> Anyways, Enjoy!

Nico had to say, the day honestly hadn't been bad until Karolina lost her contest by a fraction of points.

It was close. Very close. Rockruff had battled the best he could, but after one to many hard steel type moves he had been down for the count. The five friends had watched with a wincing gaze as Karolina lost a chance at a ribbon.

"That was hard." Alex sighed, "Karolina had a rough time thinking up a good strategy against a Pokemon who wasn't affected by any of Rockruff's moves."

"Especially since Mawile's a steel type as well as a fairy type." Chase added dejectedly.

"We should go check on her." Nico mumbled, watching Karolina put on a brave face for her Pokemon, who was giving her a saddened look. Karolina mumbled something, and the canine Pokemon rumbled against her chest.

"Definitely." Molly said, and the five of them got up and went down to the coordinators room.

When they got there, things went from bad to worse.

A girl with long brown hair was talking to Karolina with a malicious smirk on her face, and Karolina was bright red.

"How does it feel Karolina? How does it feel to be outmatched by my Mawile in every way possible?"

Karolina clenched her fists. "Don't even bother Eiffel. It was one contest, and last I checked I've beaten you twice before."

Eiffel hummed. "Well I wouldn't just call it luck. You and your other friends can waltz around and pretend to be Pokemon Trainers all you want, but don't think for one second I don't know you just want to be adventuring with Chase Stein you slut-"

"What did you just say to her?"

So that was how Gert managed to get Eiffel, Karolina's not so nice coordinating rival, to have a full on Pokemon battle with her outside the contest hall. Gert was standing on one side of the open field, and Eiffel on the other. Gert was seething, staring down Eiffel, who just seemed to feed off of her anger.

Alex and Molly were mumbling quickly to each other, casting Gert worried expressions. Nico had her hand rubbing circles on Karolina's back, who looked like she was going to be sick with worry. She hated having her friends fight her battles for her. Chase would referee, but it looked like he didn't want to. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes blazed with rage when he looked at Eiffel. It was clear that he was just as angry, if not more so, than their other friends.

Now it wasn't like Nico wasn't mad. Hell, she was pissed off. Nobody called Karolina a slut and got away with it, but Nico knew that between a competent coordinator like Eiffel and a casual battler like Gert, it wasn't going to be an easy match for Gert to win. So, walking hesitantly towards Gert, she mumbled a few quick words to her.

"Gert, are you sure you want to do this?"

Gert looked at her with shock. "Are you kidding? I'm not backing down to her!"

Nico realized she had said the wrong thing.

"No, that's not what I mean." Nico took a break, looking confused as to how to continue, before exhaling, "maybe you should let me battle instead!"

"No way! I'm not throwing away this chance to kick the shit out of her!" Gert growled, turning back to face Eiffel, "go sit and watch Nico, I'm about to demolish her."

Gert glanced over at Karolina, and her eyes narrowed at the girl who was visibly shaking.

"Make sure Karolina's okay. I'll handle this."

Nico wouldn't say no to that. Heading back over to Karolina, who seemed to calm down at her return, she turned to watch Gert one more time. Her eyes had lit up once again, and she clenched her fist.

"I'm ready when you are you hateful bitch!"

Eiffel looked slightly shocked at the rage in Gert's eyes, but quickly recovered, waving for Chase to start the match.

"Each trainer will use one Pokemon! The battle ends when the Pokemon can no longer battle!" Chase said, clearly clenching his teeth and wishing he were in Gert's place. "Begin!"

Eiffel took out a Pokeball and tossed it lazily. "Let's finish this girls petty little Pokemon quickly Lopunny!"

In a quick flash of white, the rabbit Pokemon appeared, flicking its cotton ears in understanding.

Gert's rage quickly evaporated, her face contorting to a smirk. Alex and Molly released a breath, Chase looked amused, and Nico let out a laugh.

"What's the deal you purple haired freak?" Eiffel growled, clearly annoyed, "do you want to battle or not!"

Gert's smirk just widened as she picked up her Pokeball. All five friends knew what she was thinking, hell, even Karolina let out a little smile.

"Let's show her what we got Old Lace!" she cried, tossing her Pokeball in the air.

The dinosaur Pokemon landed on the ground and roared, and Eiffel's face whitened. Lopunny took a few steps back.

"This petty little Pokemon is ready to go on your mark Eiffel!" Gert said, looking rather smug.

So the battle began.

Nico had to give Eiffel some credit. (Not much though, she still was furious at how Karolina was still shaking, even with Nico rubbing soothing circles into her back.) She really did try. Quick Attack and Dizzy Punch were smartly times moves, but when Old Lace was hit she got back up as though nothing had touched her. Nico took a breath in when Eiffel called for Charm, but Old Lace, as though feeling the rage Gert felt, shook it off like it was nothing. Finally, as though Eiffel had finally clicked in what she should do, Jump Kick landed. This attack seemed to hit Old Lace hard, she reeled from the kick and roared in anger.

Gert, enraged that her Pokemon had been injured, pointed at Eiffel's Pokemon angrily and yelled for Dragon Claw, and Old Lace obeyed, slashing the rabbit Pokemon with angry claws. Lopunny sailed backwards, hitting the ground hard. Due to Eiffel's angry screeching, she did get up, just barely. Gert, feeling sorry for the Pokemon, cried out another attack, this time Bulldoze. This time, when Old Lace charged into Lopunny she did not get up, and Chase called to end the battle.

"Lopunny is unable to battle! Gert is the winner!"

Eiffel, returning her Pokemon and screeching about freaks, stormed away angrily. Gert whooped loudly, rubbing Old Lace's head and calling out after the fleeing coordinator. "How does it feel Eiffel! That's what you get for calling my friend a slut!"

Chase, Molly, and Alex cheered, racing over and giving Gert high fives. Nico didn't move, looking to Karolina with concern.

"Are you alright? That was really nasty of her." Nico murmured, moving the hand that was rubbing circles on her back to her shoulder. She squeezed it reassuringly. "I know you hate watching us fight your battles. But we're your friends! We're never going to leave you to deal with people like her on your own."

Karolina looked up to meet Nico's eyes, and Nico saw them glimmering with uncertainty.

"Seriously Nico? You think girls like Eiffel are the reason I'm worried?"

Nico tilted her head, looking confused. "Well… I mean yeah. She did call you a-"

"I know what she called me!" Karolina snapped back, and Nico recoiled, pulling her hand away quickly and taking a few steps backwards. Karolina immediately looked guilty.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to yell at you like that." She murmured, this time being the one to step forward and meet her gaze again. "I'm just anxious."

Nico looked searchingly into her eyes, waiting for her to continue. After a deep breath, she did.

"I'm worried because if Gert is willing to charge into battle to defend me, which if we're being honest with ourselves, if it wasn't her it would have been you, or Chase, or even Alex or Molly-"

"As if Gert would let Molly fight," Nico added, shaking her head.

"Exactly, but that's not the point." Karolina said, biting her lip nervously, "Let's say the threat wasn't Eiffel for a minute. What if it was our parents or some other goons from Team Pride?"

It suddenly clicked into place for Nico. Of course that was what Karolina was worried about. The last time they had run from their parents and Karolina hadn't.

_"You guys have to go. He came for me."_

_There was a moment of pause. All five friends looked to one another in shock at Karolina's outburst. They had been caught trying to foil one of their parents scarier plans, a giant drill planning on digging up some unknown thing below the surface._

_Their parents were there, all of them standing without their Pokemon, as though they had rushed over to face their children and forgotten them. But there was one person there who had a Pokemon. Jonah._

_Nico and the others had no idea who Jonah was, other than the fact that he seemed to have complete power over Team Pride. Standing there, with a Pokemon that none of the runaways had ever seen before. Alex, in a fleeting moment before Karolina's problematic outburst, had pulled out his red Pokedex to try and get some fact, but he found nothing. The Pokemon didn't seem to exist at all._

_It had a gas based body, with two strange extensions, yellow eyes, and strange blue cheeks. It didn't look powerful at all, not until Jonah had seemly ordered it to attack with its mind. The small Pokemon seemed to telepathically push all of the teenagers back, landing hard on the floor._

_Nico's opinion of the Pokemon had changed. It was most definitely scary. But not nearly as scary as Karolina offering herself up as some kind of diversion._

_"What?" Alex responded, shocked._

_"Are you crazy?" Chase exclaimed, looking at her like she was mad._

_Nico however, was completely unable to process that as an option. "We're not leaving you."_

_"I'll hold him off and I'll meet you outside okay?" She insisted._

_Now Nico was starting to panic._

_"Don't do this please, I'm begging you! You- you can't do this alone!" She looked to the others, but all of them had grim faces, knowing that now was the only time to go. It didn't help that their parents, their own evil parents, we're yelling too. Yelling at them to run. She didn't need any more shitty advice from them._

_"Go! Go!" Karolina ordered, and Alex and Chase started to move, grabbing Molly and dragging them with her. Nico didn't budge._

_"I'm not leaving you!" She cried, but Karolina just started at her._

_"Nico, go."_

_Then she didn't have a choice. Gert grabbed her and tugged her away just as Karolina called Espeon out of her Pokeball. Nico might have been hysterical, but she could have sworn her Umbreon's Pokeball was shaking in protest, wanting to fight alongside Karolina._

"None of us think that we owe you one Karolina." Nico spoke gently.

That much was true. The others had quickly come to Karolina's defense, much to Nico's own insistence, and rescued her with the help of their Pokemon back at Leslie's Legendary Pokemon Research Facility and broken her out.

"I know you don't." Karolina responded back, clearly still troubled. "But now, because I did what I thought was best, everybody is trying to be a hero. Everybody is more willing to risk their own safety and their Pokémon's safety fighting battles I should have been able to finish!"

"Don't think like that." Nico hissed, and this time it was Karolina's turn to jump. Looking at Nico in shock, the goth girl quickly continued, "whatever trouble our parents and that freak Jonah are cooking up, it's a lot more than what you and Espeon could handle. Besides, Jonah doesn't know how much stronger we've all gotten! He doesn't know how much harder we've been working, and he certainly doesn't know about how we are all going to stick together if we ever face him again. You can count on that Karolina!"

Nico wasn't expecting Karolina to fling herself onto her. The hug was long, Karolina's arms wrapped around Nico, who returned the hug with just as much enthusiasm. When Nico hesitantly pulled apart, she met Karolina's eyes with ferocious intensity.

"The only way to figure this out is to stick together ok?"

Karolina nodded, exhaling shaking and letting out a breathy laugh. "Ok."

"Hey guys!

Nico and Karolina turned at the sound of their friends voices.

"Look what Princess left behind!" Chase held up a bright pink wallet gleefully, and Alex immediately crossed his arms.

"We're not stealing her wallet Chase! We're not thief's."

"He speaks the truth!" Nico called, walking over with Karolina at her side. She shot Alex a cheeky smile, "but technically… Gert is owed her money for winning the battle."

Gert and Molly roared with laughter, and Chase grinned and tossed Gert the wallet. Alex rolled his eyes disdainfully, but didn't protest. Opening it up, Gert whistled at the amount of cash inside.

"Jeez, it looks like she has some money to spare."

They all crowed around and blinked in amazement. That was more money than what they had spent their entire four months on the run.

Gert scooped out a couple bills. "This should do. She won't even know it went missing."

She was about to give the wallet back to Chase when, to everyone's surprise, Karolina scooped up the wallet and took one bill for herself, before tossing the wallet to a baffled Chase.

When she noticed the eyes on her, she lifted a brow. "What? She was the one who called me a slut, the least she can do is buy us pizza tonight."

Nodding in agreement, the runaways tossed the pink wallet back on the grass where Eiffel previously stood, and headed out to the nearest pizzeria, laughing and joking around as though Karolina had won a ribbon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suppose I was feeling a little chaotic neutral today with that bit about the wallet. Not sure if it's OOC but come on Eiffel deserved it. 
> 
> Again, if you have any requests for things you would like to see in this series, please let me know in the comments below! If that's not really your thing, you can always send me an ask on Tumblr. My username is thegoodgayshit


	3. Pretty in Pink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly really wants to battle. Nico is convinced she should be able too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey! Back with another addition to this little Pokemon thingy. Again, feel free to let me know if you have any little prompts you want me to add into this AU thingy cuz only god knows what I'm gonna post next!

“No. Absolutely not. No way!” Gert exclaimed.

 

“Honestly Gert, I’m going to battle her anyway regardless of if you say no or yes.” Nico deadpanned.

 

“Nico I swear to god, if you hurt my sister-“

 

“Gert, _relax_. I’m not going to go easy on her if that’s what you’re demanding. You need to calm down. Molly really wants to battle, why are you so insistent she can’t?” Nico groaned, doing her best to assert her dominance, even though the purple haired girl was staring her down hard.

 

“Molly is way younger than us!” Gert hissed back.

 

“I don’t know if you could call two and a half years way younger. Besides, you know the five of us were sneaking off to train together when we were fifteen.” Nico reasoned.

 

“She’s not as strong we were!” Gert didn’t miss a beat with her next excuse. Nico perked an eyebrow.  
  
“Actually, I think she’s twice as strong as we were.” Nico stated. She was thinking out loud as Gert argued, and seeing the issue from Molly’s point of view was really eye opening. The five older runaways actually had no reason to stop Molly from battling if she wanted too. “We only had Eevee’s at the time, and she has Eevee and Budew. She’s also been battling Chase in her off time, and I know she’s secretly been training behind your back.”

 

“She’s been what?” Gert was looking rather trapped now, realizing that her excuses were running thin.

 

Nico slid in for the kill. “Gert, honestly why are you so insistent she can’t battle. Be honest. She’s a tough kid, and she really wants the chance to do what Alex and I are doing. What’s the problem with that? It’s not like we don’t have the time. Why is it fair to let Molly waste this chance by not going for gym badges when that’s all she wants to do?”

 

Gert looked like she was about to explode. Or start crying. Nico knew the girl had bad anxiety, maybe she had pushed her just a little too hard. Just as Nico was going to apologize though, Gert took a shaky exhale, and slowly responded.

 

“I just feel bad for her. She’s so young to be living on the run. We’re adults, we can deal with it, but she’s still a kid. I just want her to stay a kid for as long as she can.”

 

Nico deflated. Of course that’s what it was. Gert was just looking out for her sister, but not the way Nico had thought. Gert knew she wasn’t worried about Molly getting hurt. She didn’t want Molly to grow up. 

 

“Gert, that’s really sweet of you. Your heart is in the right place, but you have to remember that we are the exception to a normality. We never got the chance to live like most kids. We never got the chance to adventure and raise Pokémon when we were younger. Give Molly that chance now.”

 

Gert sighed, and gave Nico a sideways smile. “You’re right. I need to encourage her. If Chase says she’s a good battler, I believe him.”

 

“Hold on, did you just say you believe Chase Stein?” Nico was definitely taken aback now. Gert having faith in Molly she could believe, but Chase? The same guy Gert referred to as Protein Powder?

 

Gert flushed, her whole face going red. “I- I think he’s a smart battler! If he says he’s good then he must be!”

 

Nico didn’t want anything to do with Gert and her massive crush on Chase. Honestly, it couldn’t have been more obvious. As a matter of fact, Nico was wondering when Gert was going to accidentally slip up and reveal her secret to the rest of the group. Not like they didn’t already know.

 

Nico just hummed. “Ok, whatever. I’m going to go get Molly now.”

 

“You do that.” Gert said, she paused for another moment, her face retracting it’s previous red colour. “But I’m going to say it again, if you beat her up too badly I will kick your ass.”

 

“I’d like to see you try.” Nico teased, giving her a lopsided smile before walking off to get Molly.

 

The girl was with Alex, going over a map they had snagged from the Pokémon Centre in the last town they had been. Right now they were looking around the clearing they had settled in temporarily.

 

“I don’t know if we should keep to the forest.” Alex said, “there are some weird rumours about that place at night.”

 

“I think we should go up that little trail towards the cliffs.” Molly interjected, pointing to some location on the map, “I bet there are little caves we can sleep in. The forecast in the town said it was going to rain for a few days.”

 

Nico interrupted their little chat, walking over and placing her hands on her hips. “Ok, enough with the maps. Let’s battle.”

 

“Right now Nico?” Alex looked a little annoyed, “we just trained earlier, why would we do it again?”

 

Nico rolled her eyes, “not you Alex. Molly.”

 

Alex raised a brow, but Molly squealed and leapt up from where she was sitting. Her eyes shone with excitement. “Really? Right now? Awesome!”

 

“Did you talk to Gert about this?” Alex said warily, “I don’t want Old Lace eating whatever is left of you for dinner tonight if you didn’t.”

 

“Oh stop Alex, of course I talked to her.” Nico waved him off. She turned back to Molly, who looked like she was about to squeal again. Holding up one hand to keep her clam, she continued.

 

“So we’re going to have a one on one battle. One of my Pokémon needs a little more training, so I’m taking this as an opportunity to practise. You can use Eevee or Budew, it doesn’t matter to me.” Nico said, and then gestured to the clearing behind them. “Be ready to go in twenty minutes. Chase and Karolina should be back from gathering food then. Everyone is going to be watching.”

 

Molly bounced on her heels. “Ok! I’ll be ready!”

 

“Excellent.”

 

Chase and Karolina quickly returned, and when they did, Molly immediately ran to them and told them the news. Nico could see her mouth running a mile a minute, and as she made her way over to the two stunned looking runaways, she could make out the conversation.

 

“-and now Gert’s letting me battle, and Nico’s going to battle me! Can you believe it?” She finished, and Chase still looked a little shocked, but Karolina’s mouth split into a smile.

 

“Molly that’s great! I’m so happy for you!” The girl had her hands full, holding four or five buckets of food, but she didn’t move to put them with the supplies like Chase did. When Karolina spoke to someone, she gave them her full attention.

 

“Here, let me help you,” Nico murmured, the load from her. Karolina nodded thanks, while Nico placed the buckets down by the rest of the supplies. Molly and Karolina kept up their conversation, Molly asking for battling tips while Karolina gave out thoughtful replies.

 

When the buckets were organized, Chased looked over at Nico with a lopsided smile. “So where’s Gert’s body? You obviously must have killed her if you’re battling Molly.”

 

“Actually she’s over there.” Nico gestured over to the edge of the clearing, where Gert was sitting and talking to Old Lace, clearly getting out some of her anxieties. Chase let out a small hum of understanding.

 

“Are you going to use Umbreon?” Chase asked, and Nico laughed.

 

“No way. No offence, but if Molly can’t beat you and Flareon, she doesn’t have a chance against Umbreon and I.”

 

“I’ll try not to let that one offend me.” Chase said, but his eyes betrayed him. He was definitely offended.

 

“Oh come on Chase, we all know you’re more into the technology than the actual battling.” Nico reasoned, “how are those Pokeball magnets coming along?”

 

Chase broke out into a grin, he was always excited to talk about his new inventions. “Really well! See, there’s the slightest piece of iron inside every Pokeball, so by changing the dynamic of the actual magnet, it resets the whole magnetic force!”

 

“I don’t know what any of that means.” Nico deadpanned.

 

Chase chuckled, “I actually took the idea from Karolina’s appeal. Think of it like this: if the force inside the Stealth Rock changed the attributes of the area to have space like qualities, I can try and mimic it by reversing the magnetic field in the magnet to draw in Pokeball’s. Now, if Team Pride tries to take any of our Pokémon, I’ll be able to suck them right back to us with the magnet! ”

 

“That’s actually impressive.” Nico said, and she was telling the truth. This would relieve a lot of tension when fighting Team Pride goons. The goons seemed to always be after their Pokeball’s, like their parents would think they were powerless without them. “Does it work?”

 

“See that’s the issue.” Chase sighed, shaking his head. “Neither Jolteon, Luxio, or Mareep can generate a strong enough electrical current to reboot the magnetic field. That’s been a roadblock in my advancements. Jolteon can product over 100000 volts according to my Pokedex, which should be more than enough power!” He tapped his belt, where the blue dex was attached. “I think I need a different kind of energy. I don’t know what though.” He seemed stumped, and Nico wished she could offer some advice, but she really had no idea what to do.

 

“You’ll figure it out Chase. You always do.” Nico encouraged, and he just shrugged.

 

“I guess.”

 

“Nico! Can we start now?” Molly interrupted the conversation between her and Chase. Nico turned to look at the fifteen year old with amusement.

 

“Yeah Molly, sure. Let’s head over to the clearing.”

 

Nico sauntered off to take position in the field the runaways were using to train. As she turned, she was pretty sure she heard Chase tell Molly to kick her ass, but she ignored it. This was training for both her and Molly, and while Nico knew she had an advantage, she wasn’t going to let anything distract her regardless. She took the same place she had stood earlier that morning to battle Alex, rolling her wrists which slightly lifted the sleeves of her leather jacket.

 

Molly, who was now looking excited, but also a little nervous, headed over to Alex’s place. By now, all the other older runaways had gathered near the sidelines to watch.

 

“I can referee if you’d like,” Alex called out to them, and Nico and Molly both nodded.

 

“Thanks Alex!” Nico called back, and as he headed over to stand near the center of the field, Nico casted a little glance at the other runaways. Gert was looking stony, her anxiety gone and instead replaced with a hazy look that Nico recognized as dissociation. She shook her head lightly. That girl just couldn’t cope sometimes.  

 

She noticed Karolina, (although, recently she seemed to be asking herself when she wasn’t noticing Karolina. Ever since that orbiting Electroball appeal, Nico found herself casting glances at the blond occasionally. She didn’t let herself dwell on why.) and realized the girl was sitting and giggling at Chase, who she imagined was saying the most ridiculous things to try and get Gert’s attention. Chase always did things like that whenever Gert was feeling particularly dissociative.

 

She felt a swirling in the pit of her stomach and ignored it.

 

Nico turned her attention back to the issue at hand. She was about to battle. She couldn’t be distracted.

 

“Alright you two, you know the rules. One Pokémon each, and the last Pokémon standing wins.” Alex called, casting glances at both Nico and Molly, “are you ready?”

 

Nico nodded once, “you know it!”

 

Molly’s nervousness had faded, instead to be replaced with steely determination. “Ready to go!”

 

Alex nodded, “alright! Release your Pokémon!”

 

Molly got to her Pokeball first, probably out of sheer jitters. Clicking a ball off her belt, she tossed it into the air. “Let’s show them what we got Eevee!”

 

The cute brown Pokémon landed gracefully one the ground with a flash of white, ambitious eyes shining. “Evee!”

 

Nico picked up the third Pokeball on her belt, and released her newest Pokémon. “Alright, let’s go Houndour!”

 

The canine Pokémon appeared in a flash of white, howling. Nico had to admit, while she loved the way Houndour battled hard and was fiercely loyal, she had been shallow when she caught him for her team. She had wanted to train him purely because of his looks.

 

I mean come on, Houndour was a Pokémon that just matched Nico’s aesthetic. She wasn’t going to pass up a Pokémon that was so damn cool. 

 

“You can have the first move Nico.” Molly offered, and Nico raised her eyebrows, she had a feeling that the murmuring she heard from the sidelines meant that the runaways were shocked too.

 

Well, Molly wasn’t going to learn to guard an attack by starting first. Nico might as well have the first move.

 

“Ok, Houndour kick this off with bite!”

 

The canine Pokémon outmatched Eevee in many ways, his bite was stronger, his fire fang was hotter, and his endurance was way higher. Nico assumed she was going to win, but the second Houndour tried to land a move, the quicker and sleeker Eevee would dodge, roll, and dash out of the way. When Houndour’s attack clamed over air, Molly called out for Quick Attack, and the fox Pokémon spun into Houndour faster than any Pokémon Nico had seen. Houndour had no chance, and went spinning into the dust.

 

“Woah.” Nico breathed, utterly amazed at Eevee’s speed. Umbreon certainly hadn’t been that fast as an Eevee. It was time to think of a new tactic.

 

So, Nico tried holding out until Molly called an attack, and mirroring Molly’s own strategy of dodging and attacking. Houndour did his best, but Eevee was just too quick.

 

“Gotta try something better than that Nico!” Molly teased, and the other runaways laughed. Nico flushed bright red. She was not about to get outplayed by Molly, no matter how much of a natural battler she was.

 

“Houndour, use howl!”

 

The canine Pokémon reared back and let out a howl that stretched across the whole clearing. When the Pokémon relaxed, he looked much more confident, as though he had physically gotten stronger. Eevee’s confidence, on the other hand, was slightly altered. She looked a little more nervous than before.

 

“Fire fang!”

 

This time Molly was caught off guard, not expecting another attack so quickly. Apparently, Eevee was shocked too, because Houndour’s fangs landed on Eevee, and the little Pokémon shrieked in pain and hit the floor. Flames erupted along Eevee’s little body, and Nico realized the attack had doubled in intensity.

 

“Eevee, are you alright?” Molly gasped, and the little Pokémon struggled to her feet. The Pokémon looked singed, and Nico’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

 

“The attack left Eevee burned.” She mumbled to herself. The runaways had stopped laughing now, and Gert looked like she was about to bite her fingernails off. 

 

Eevee was still struggling to get up, and Houndour was watching her with concern. As much as Houndour loved to battle, Nico knew he was feeling guilty. The two Pokémon were friends after all.

 

Alex looked like he wanted to call off the battle, but before he could Molly’s eyes narrowed in determination.

 

“Eevee, I know your hurt, but I know you can keep battling! You’re the toughest Pokémon I know, and I know you’re not done yet!”

 

The little fox Pokémon seemed to perk up with the encouragement, and struggled to lift herself again. When the burn still seemed to singe her, she struggled again, but Molly was grinning with appreciation.

 

“That’s it Eevee! Keep that up! You got this!”

 

As though exerting all of her energy, Eevee’s eyes glinted, and she stood up quickly. Her whole body started to illuminate a bright white light, and Molly let out a little gasp of shock. Nico and the other runaways however, looked thoroughly excited. Eevee was evolving.

 

The Pokémon glowed for another few moments, before it settled enough to see.  Instead of Eevee, there was a cream coloured Pokémon with pink feet, a pink tail, and pink ears. The Pokémon had ribbons floating around her body, with a pink bow on her head. When the bright light completely faded, the Pokémon blinked its sparkling blue eyes.

 

Nico’s eyebrow raised. That was the girliest fucking Pokémon she had ever seen.

 

Molly however, looked completely ecstatic, whipping out her pink Pokedex. Nico pulled out her black one to see what she was now up against.

 

_Sylveon, the Intertwining Pokémon and an evolved form of Eevee. Sylveon affectionately wraps its ribbon-like feelers around its Trainer's arm as they walk together._

 

“This is SO awesome!” Molly cried, pumping a fist into the air. “Sylveon is so cool!”

 

“Actually I think she’s pretty cute.” Nico shrugged.

 

“Don’t underestimate Sylveon Nico,” Karolina called from the sidelines, “Houndour is a dark type, which means his moves are not going to be very effective.”

 

Nico grit her teeth. This was going to be harder than she thought. Of all her strategies, she didn’t know if she had one for in-battle evolution.

 

Just as Nico was contemplating this, Sylveon suddenly reared back and stamped her paw, and a large gust of wind appeared out of nowhere, a magical essence attached to it. The sharp wind blew into Houndour, who yelped and flew backwards.

 

“Ok seriously, now what?” Nico grumbled, very annoyed. Her black Pokedex spoke back to her in a very practical voice.

 

_“Fairy wind is a fairy type Pokémon move that subjects opponents to sharp shards of win, powerful enough to throw the Pokémon backwards.”_

“Thanks dex, but the question was rhetorical.” She hissed, slamming the black device back into her belt.

 

It turned out that Karolina was right, Sylveon was tough. Tougher than Nico anticipated, and she wasn’t underestimating her. The Pokémon was like a tank, every attack Nico hit her with, she just bounced back up. Eventually, with one last strong Fairy Wind, Houndour was down for the count, so exhausted he couldn’t get back up.

 

“Houndour is unable to battle! Molly Is the winner!” Alex said, a little smile forming on his lips.

 

Nico ducked her head and sighed, while the runaways cheered.

 

“Way to go Molly!” Chase exclaimed, running up and giving her a high five.

 

“You and Sylveon were awesome Molly.” Gert grinned, embracing her sister in a hug. “I’m sorry I couldn’t see it before. You’re really talented!”

 

Molly’s grip tightened around her sister, when she pulled back, Sylveon was rubbing against her leg. Molly smiled and picked up the pink Pokémon, giving her an appreciative hug. “Does that mean Sylveon and I can battle more often?”

 

Gert gave her sister a lopsided smile, “yeah, you can. Bring in the money Molly!”

 

Nico was walking over to Houndour, sitting down and giving him a gentle rub on the back. The canine Pokémon looked upset, but Nico just smiled.

 

“You did amazing Houndour! We’ll be ready for something like that next time ok?”

 

The canine barked in agreement, and Nico took out his Pokeball. “Excellent. For now just rest.”

 

When the Pokémon faded into the ball, Nico looked up and saw Karolina watching her with a sympathetic smile. “It must suck loosing huh?”

 

Nico just shrugged. “It’s really not a big deal. I definitely learned something though. Isn’t that the point?”

 

Karolina tilted her head, watching the Goth with an unreadable expression. “I thought you were going to boast honestly. Say you let her win.”

 

This threw Nico off. “Really? Why would you think that?”

 

“I dunno.” Karolina said, extending a hand for Nico to take. With her help, Nico pulled herself to her feet. “Probably because everybody here thought you were going to win.”

 

“Well I guess I can be surprising occasionally.” Nico chuckled. Karolina smiled back.

 

“Yeah I guess.”

 

Nico just kept staring at Karolina. Her blue eyes were still clouded with that unreadable expression. Before Nico could ask about it however, she was interrupted. 

 

“Hey Nico! Thanks for the awesome battle!” Molly raced over with Sylveon at her heels, and gave Nico the biggest smile she had ever seen.

 

Nico just nodded. “Of course, you did an incredible job. I guess in a few days you’ll be taking on the gym with Alex and I?”

 

Molly clenched one fist, looking thoroughly prepared. “You’re damn right! And I’m not leaving that town until I get a badge!”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta love Nico and Karolina slow burn amirite? You only be getting 2 sentences in one chapter. Sorry, I just couldn't think of anything else to add in there. Eventually they're gonna kiss. Eventually.


	4. PRIDE and Predjudice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The runaways have a run in with Team Pride, and Karolina and Nico are separated from the pack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello! Back with another instalment, this one heavily layered with some deanoru content. Hope you enjoy!

"FASTER! Come on guys KEEP RUNNING!" Chase was roaring, and Karolina sprinted with all her might. The six teenagers were moving as fast as they could, wind roaring in their ears, chests heaving as their lungs tried to keep up.

Karolina spared a second to glance behind her, Gert was falling behind, her face red with panic. Karolina, looking to her right and sharing a look with Nico, the pair nodded and slowed down, waiting for Gert to catch up and grabbing her arms to help her run faster.

The six runaways ran deeper and deeper into the lush forest, away from the town they had come across. The Team Pride goons, eight of them to be exact, charged after them, their red cloaks flowing behind them like capes.

Karolina didn't have time to dwell on it as she was running, but she knew later on she would be thinking the same thing as the other runaways. How the hell did they find them?

A log was slowly approaching the group, and Chase, being the fastest, reached it first. He lifted one arm and leapt, sailing over the log seconds before Alex and Molly join him. Karolina nudged Gert forward and the purple haired girl did the same as she reached it, sailing over the log sprinting after the others.

As Nico and Karolina simultaneously leapt over the log and kept running, they realized what those few seconds of time letting Gert go first had cost them. The road ahead split into four way fork, and the other runaways were nowhere to be found.

For a moment, the two hesitated.

"Now what?" Nico breathed, eyes darting down each path.

"I don't know." Karolina answered breathlessly.

They didn't have time to think about it. They heard the voices of the eight goons, and Nico grabbed Karolina's wrist and tore down the fourth path, the one most shaded by the trees. As they sprinted away, the goons jumped the log, and the two girls could hear their frustrated voices as they sprinted away.

"Which path did they take?" shouted one.

"I don't know idiot! It could have been any of them!" another bit back.

"Enough! If we don't hurry we'll lose them. Split into pairs!"

"Roger that!"

They heard the hammering of footsteps tear after them, but Karolina and Nico had a good lead. They sprinted further through the shade covered forest, running for a few more minutes. Finally, the trees parted to a clearing, and Karolina felt hope wash through her. Building up a little more speed, she sprinted forwards. Nico however, came to a screeching halt.

"Cliff!"

Karolina felt herself be yanked back by Nico's hand still wrapped around her wrist. Nico had pulled her back inches before her feet would have tipped over the edge, soaring down to a river at least fifty feet below them.

Karolina, shocked by hat had just happened, turn to Nico with relief washing over her face. "Thanks."

Nico however, looked grim. "Don't thank me yet. Where are we supposed to go now!"

"You!"

The pair of girls spun around to meet two Team Pride grunts, one male, one female. The girl had long black hair and dark eyes, and the boy had windswept blond hair and eyes as cold as ice. They were at least four years older than Nico and Karolina, and they shared wicked grins.

"I suppose you all thought you'd get away if you split up eh?" The boy scoffed,

"yeah, as if we're stupid enough to fall for that one!" The girl smirked.

Karolina and Nico shared looks, eyes glinting with understanding. They didn't like fighting Team Pride if they didn't have too, but now that they weren't outnumbered and had a better chance, the girls figured that fighting these two was their best option at the moment.

"What the hell is the point of always chasing us?" Nico hissed, clenching her fists.

"What kind of question is that darkness?" The girl said, and her laugh was high and cold. "You are top priority to our leaders! They say you're Team Pride's most wanted, who are we to pass up the opportunity for a promotion!"

"Exactly. Now hand over your Pokémon and come quietly." The boy said, extending his hand.

"As if!" Karolina snapped, eyes flashing with rage. "We're not going anywhere with you!"

The boy growled and retracted his hand, reaching instead for the single Pokeball on his belt. The girl mirrored him, grabbing her one Pokeball as well. "Fine! Then we'll just have to make you!"

"Glameow! Get them!"

"Do your thing Salandit!"

From their Pokeball's white light appeared two Pokémon, a cat with a spring like tail, and a black salamander Pokémon with menacing purple eyes.

Karolina and Nico each reached out of their bags and tossed their own Pokémon.

"Espeon, hold them off!"

"Umbreon! Protect us!"

The purple and black Pokémon appeared side by side, Espeon looking at the Team Pride Pokémon disdainfully, and Umbreon tensing and growling protectively.

"What are you waiting for Tyler?" The girl hissed, pointing at Karolina and Nico. "Attack them!"

"I'm going Jane!" The boy snapped back, muttering something under his breath. He shook his head and pointed at Umbreon. "Salandit use ember!"

The lizard shot out a small flame that soared quickly towards Umbreon, but Nico was quicker.

"Counter that with Shadowball!"

Once Umbreon fended off the small flame with a much bigger ball made of condensed darkness, Karolina was quick to assist the dark type.

"Espeon use Swift!"

A series of white stars sailed towards both Salandit and Glameow, making contact and knocking both Pokémon backwards, yelping in pain.

"Aguh! That wasn't fair!" The girl growled. Karolina raised an eyebrow. "You're trying to literally kidnap us, what about that is fair!"

The girl growled again, raising one arm. "Glameow, fury swipes on that purple thing!"

The boy nodded in agreement. "Salandit, use poison gas!"

"Dodge it!" Both runaways called in unison.

The Pokémon leapt into the air to dodge the attacks, and, still in unison, the two girls called out their attacks.

"Espeon, use Psybeam!"

"Umbreon, feint attack!"

Umbreon landed in front of Salandit, crashing into him hard and the Pokémon yelped and rolled to the forest floor at the boys feet. Espeon let out a pretty wave of colour that shot at incredible speeds, hitting Glameow and sending her reeling.

"What the hell!" The boy growled, pulling out his Pokeball and retracting the tired Pokémon. The girl did the same, clenching her fists. Karolina and Nico now took a confident step forward, their Pokémon at their sides, glaring at the two venomously.

"Now look who's in trouble." Nico snapped.

The girl and boy shifted, sharing angry but anxious looks. Eventually, they realized they had been defeated, and took a few steps back.

"It doesn't matter! There's just two of them here. The bosses will be happy enough with just the four." The boy muttered to the girl.

"Do you see how strong these kids are?" The girl hissed back. "If the others are anything like them, I wouldn't be so confident."

"Aw! Thanks!" Karolina smiled, genuinely pleased with the compliment, and Nico couldn't help but snort out a laugh. Karolina figured the goth girl must have found that funny, but nowadays without her parents, compliments were harder to come by. Karolina would take what she could get.

The two grunts shared another nervous look at the two runaways, before taking off, sprinting back the way they came.

Umbreon and Espeon cooed in delight, intertwining their tails. Karolina let out a little exhale, finally letting her heart slow down after it had been hammering in her chest.

Nico however, didn't seem to be any less tense. "What about the others? We got lucky, those two were about as smart as rocks."

This brought Karolina back to reality. The sun was getting lower in the sky. If they didn't find the others by nightfall, they would have to camp somewhere and wait until morning.

"Well it would be really stupid to go back the way we came." Karolina said, looking down the path the grunts had fled through. "We would just run into Team Pride regrouping."

There was a moment of silence. Karolina bit her lip and looked back at the goth girl, who's expression shared the same uneasiness.

"You do think they're alright? I mean, they can't be in trouble can they?"

Another beat. "Honestly, I don't know." Nico sighed, looking anywhere but at Karolina. She couldn't bear to see the usually upbeat girl look so worried. "I mean, if they stayed together then they only had to deal with two of them. If Gert got separated from the pack-"

"Oh god, she was closer to us than the others." Karolina breathed out,

"yeah, and if she was outnumbered on her own…"

"But she has Old Lace with her! And Jolteon and Ponyta. She's definitely alright!" Karolina pressed, and Nico stopped talking. It was clear that Karolina refused to think of any alternative other than all their friends were safe and okay.

"You're probably right." Nico said, "but we still need to find them. Let's get moving."

The two recalled their Pokémon, heading along the left hand side of the cliff, hoping that if they headed through the forest in that direction, they would come across the other paths. The two walked in silence, nervous that they would come across Team Pride again. They didn't, but they also didn't come across the other runaways either. The longer they walked, the tighter Karolina's chest became. The thought of the others being in trouble was agony for her.

Nico, seemingly noticing this, turned to the blond girl with a soft expression.

"Hey, it's going to be ok. The others are tough, they probably beat down Team Pride ages ago. If anything, they're probably worried about us."

Karolina didn't respond right away. Instead she focused her attention to her hand. More specifically, the hand Nico was squeezing comfortingly. Karolina watched it for a second to long, and Nico flushed, letting go of the blonds hand and looking back towards the forest.

Karolina felt embarrassed. She didn't realize she had made it weird. She kept pace with Nico, trying to ignore the hot pricking of her hand over the release of Nico's.

When they broke through the second clearing, they were back by the edge of the cliff. This one was shaped differently, while there was forest in the surrounding spots of the cliffs edge, there was a small series of shallow Pokémon-sized caves along the edge. Nico knew they had to stop for the night, the sun was setting and she didn't know if they would be able to find shelter if they kept going. Plus, neither girl had eaten, and Nico was certainly beginning to feel it.

Nico halted in the clearing, which caused Karolina to turn and look at her in surprise. "What are we doing?"

Nico sighed, she knew this wasn't going to be easy. "We need to stop for the night. I'm tired and hungry, and we can't go any farther in the dark. We're just going to get lost."

Karolina didn't seem to register this information. "What are you talking about? We haven't found the others yet. We can't just stop!"

"Karolina." Nico reached out to calm her down, but she just jerked backwards.

"No Nico! We can't just stop! We can't lose them, I don't want to lose them-"

She was working herself up to a point of shaking, looking on the verge of tears and Nico stopped. She wasn't going to try and reason with Karolina right now. She was tired and scared, and she just needed a break like Nico.

"Karolina, we aren't giving up on them okay? I promise you, the second the sun rises we are getting back into that forest and not leaving until we find them. But if we collapse from exhaustion or die of starvation that isn't going to help anybody."

Karolina stopped. She was still shaking and close to tears, but she didn't jerk away when Nico pulled her into a hug. The hug was tight and familiar, and Karolina sank into it, calming down. When Karolina wasn't shaking anymore, Nico pulled back and tucked a strand of hair behind Karolina's ear.

"Remember what I told you? The only way to deal with this is to stick together. But right now we just need to calm down and get some rest. Ok?" Karolina looked like she was about to pass out from fatigue, but she nodded not breaking eye contact with the dark haired girl.

Nico smiled, grazing Karolina's chin with her thumb reassuringly. "Awesome. Now let's set up camp alright?"

Pokémon really did make the job easier. Rockruff dig out a small cave for the two girls in the side of the rocky hill, making sure they didn't drop in some wild Pokémon's den. The puppy Pokémon seemed to tell that Karolina wasn't feeling right, and stuck by her side loyally. Espeon, Umbreon, and Mareep worked together to gather some kindle for a fire, while Nico carried the heavier logs that required opposable thumbs to lift. When there was enough firewood, to build a fire inside the small cave, Nico called for Houndour to use ember, and the fire started. Nico, Karolina, and the Pokémon sighed gratefully at the warmth. They finished just as the sun was setting low in the sky, and the stars appeared in the black night.

Nico was ready to settle down when her growling stomach reminded her she had forgotten something. She lifted her last Pokeball, and out came Nuzleaf. The Pokémon appeared with its head tilted in glee, the leaf on his head flopping to the other side.

"Hey Nuzleaf. Do you mind checking the forest to see if there is any berries around? It's too dark to see anything now."

The Pokémon nodded, excited to be given a task, and leapt into the forest.

"Nuzleaf was a good choice Nico." Karolina's voice surprised the goth girl, she had honestly expected her to shy away from Nico for the night, after forcing her to stop the search for the runaways. The blond hair girl was looking sleepy, leaning on Mareep and her big, soft coat. Her pretty blue eyes blinked slowly at Nico. "He's used to being the forest, if anyone can find food its him."

"You're talking to me." Nico stated, sitting down cross legged next to the blond girl.

Karolina hummed, she didn't seem distressed any more, but she did look weak, as though she had been fighting Team Pride instead of Espeon. "What's the point in not? Am I annoyed you wanted to stop looking? Sure. But my brain knows you made the right call."

"What about your heart?" Nico asked, choosing to lie down with her arms crossed behind her head on the dirt ground. It wasn't the cleanest of options, but she didn't have a Pokémon like Mareep to sleep on like a pillow. Her Pokémon were sitting at her and Karolina's feet, Houndour and Rockruff were watching the cave entrance like guard dogs, and Umbreon curled around Espeon sleeping.

Nico wasn't sure if Karolina was even going to respond. The girl had her eyes closed peacefully, and Nico could see her chest rise and fall with deep breaths.

Karolina on the other hand, didn't have an answer to Nico's question. Her mind was swirling with anxiety, but she forced it down. Instead, she listened to the thrumming of her own heart, getting louder and louder as Karolina realized how close Nico's body was to hers. They were centimeters apart, so close Karolina could feel the brush of Nico's elbow on her shoulder as she adjusted to get comfortable.

The little bit of tension was broken when Houndour barked, and Nico sat up quickly. Karolina jerked up as well, feeling her heartbeat race as she looked for an intruder. It was only Nuzleaf, returning with arms full of berries and herbs. Nico grinned appreciatively at the grass type, as the Pokémon placed the food on the ground. Even Karolina's sprits rose, as all the Pokémon roused to eat some of what Nuzleaf had collected.

"You're awesome." Nico praised, patting the Pokémon. Nuzleaf just chirped, and began dividing the food for each Pokémon as well as Karolina and Nico.

By the time everyone had eaten, they were feeling much better, and most of them were about to try and sleep. Karolina however was standing near the edge of the cave, staring up into the sky, and when Nico noticed this, she approached her.

"You alright?" Nico asked, wincing at her insensitivity. Of course she wasn't.

Karolina didn't seem to be offended, she just smiled at Nico before looking back up at the stars.

"Just wondering how the others are doing. I wish there was some way to let them know where we are. We can't call out to them in case Team Pride is looking for us too."

That's when Nico had an idea. She turned to the blond in delight.

"You're right Karolina! We can't call out for them. But we don't have too!"

Karolina looked at Nico in confusion. "I'm not following here."

Nico was two steps ahead. "Houndour! Rockruff! Come here for a minute!"

The two dog Pokémon came over slowly, Rockruff nuzzling Karolina's leg. Houndour sat next to Nico loyally, and she goth girl smiled at the both.

"I want you two to go into the clearing and take turns howling. The others will be able to follow the noise because they know it's you, but Team Pride won't know what the noise is for!" Nico seemed impressed with herself, crossing her arms confidently.

Karolina actually broke into a grin. "Nico that's genius!"

"Thanks!" Nico said back, her eyes lighting up at the happiness in Karolina's expression. It was finally something they could do that would actually help find the other runaways.

Rockruff and Houndour took position, and every ten minutes howled. After about an hour, they started intervals in thirty minutes. The Pokémon and the trainers were slowly loosing energy, and Nico beckoned the two dogs to come back over.

"Perfect guys. At this point the whole forest heard that. Hopefully that will lead them on the right tracks to find us. You can both get some sleep now."

The two dog Pokémon fell at the feet of Karolina and Nico, who's backs were against the cave walls. Karolina looked and felt much better, no longer seriously concerned for their friends. They were smart, they would have definitely heard the howls and knew what direction to travel in the morning.

"All we can do is wait." Karolina said, but waiting didn't seem so awful to her anymore. She was much more content, and leaned into Nico's shoulder.

"Thank you Nico. You actually managed to calm me down." She said gratefully.

The goth girl flushed, looking embarrassed. "I really didn't. It was just something we could do."

"It's enough for me right now." Karolina said, smiling into her shoulder.

"That's good."

There was a few moments of silence, each girl just listening to their own hears thrumming in their chests. Another moment of pause, before Karolina looked back up at Nico, and even in the faint firelight her eyes were still a marvelous blue.

"I never answered your question earlier."

Nico hummed, totally forgetting what she had asked. "Which one?"

"You asked me how my heart felt."

Nico turned her head to look Karolina in the eyes. "Ok, what's the answer then?"

Karolina gave Nico a soft smile. "My heart doesn't care what decision you made, because it knows that you of all people care about us the most."

"That's not true." Nico countered.

"I'm not buying that." Karolina said, her voice dropping below a whisper as she nudged herself closer to Nico. There was a moment of eye contact between the two, challenging each other playfully.

Nico felt her heart flutter again as Karolina's face got closer to hers, and she couldn't stop her next thoughts from escaping her mouth.

"I think I just care about you the most."

The second she said it she realized how it sounded and went bright red. Karolina looked slightly taken aback, before breaking into a wide grin.

"Really?"

Nico, if possible, blushed even further. "Really."

Another few seconds of silence, before Karolina leaned back on Nico's shoulder, throwing a hand around her stomach. Nico, still flustered, settled into a comfortable position for the two of them to lie. Karolina's breath was tickling faintly on Nico's neck, and she struggled to try and calm her banging heart down.

Another pause, before Karolina mumbled something into Nico's neck.

"Sorry?" Nico asked, not catching it.

"I said I care about you the most too."

Nico didn't know when she fell asleep, but she does remember that despite the rough walls and floor of the cave, she didn't feel uncomfortable in the slightest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who cares if they end up back with the others honestly. I was just 100% in it for some gay shit. 
> 
> If you have any requests for this Pokemon World, hit me up! My Tumblr is thegoodgayshit
> 
> See you next time!

**Author's Note:**

> Karolina is gay and doesn't even know it yet. 
> 
> Anyway I hope you enjoyed! If you have anything you want to see from me related to this, just leave a comment and I might just write it!
> 
> See ya round!


End file.
